President John Dramani Mahama has linked Ghana’s Accra Reset initiative to the need for African countries to build greater capacity to finance and manage critical sectors, particularly healthcare, rather than relying heavily on external development assistance.

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, President Mahama said the withdrawal of about $174 million in programmed US development support exposed vulnerabilities in Ghana’s public systems, including a reported $74 million annual gap in health financing.

He said the disruption affected areas such as medical research, laboratory testing for HIV and programmes supported through PEPFAR.

He said the experience had strengthened the case for what he described as “health sovereignty”, with African countries developing the capacity to manufacture medicines and vaccines locally and building more resilient supply chains.

President Mahama said the objective was not to isolate Africa from international partners but to reduce structural dependence and enable countries to exercise greater control over essential sectors.

The President also addressed the security situation in the Sahel, linking the escalation of instability to the aftermath of the Libya conflict, the subsequent proliferation of arms and the movement of terrorist groups into the region.

He said military coups in parts of the Sahel should be considered against that wider security background, while calling for greater efforts to address the underlying security challenges.

On relations between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), President Mahama advocated continued dialogue and efforts to rebuild regional cooperation.

He said combating terrorism would require cooperation among countries in the region and with international partners, adding that Ghana was strengthening surveillance and intelligence-sharing with neighbouring states to protect its borders.

Looking ahead to Ghana’s 2027 chairmanship of the African Union, President Mahama said the country intends to use the position to advance regional integration, facilitate the movement of goods across the continent and support continental efforts towards peace and security.

The Accra Reset has been presented by Ghana as an Africa-led approach aimed at strengthening self-reliance and reshaping global cooperation, with health sovereignty forming a major component of the initiative.